SARASOTA COUNTY — A Sarasota man told deputies he fatally stabbed a toothless dog after the animal charged out of its front yard and attacked his dog.

The 15-year-old Labrador retriever mix named Chloe reportedly fought with Christopher Mouser and his dog Tyson — a brindle pit bull boxer — for about four minutes, but deputies found no injuries to either Tyson or Mouser, according to a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office report.

Chloe’s owner violated the county ordinance prohibiting dogs from running at large when she left her dog unleashed and then Chloe became involved in a fight with Mouser’s leashed dog, the report said. Mouser said he stabbed the dog because he was afraid.

Mouser, 29, said Thursday he was “torn up inside” over the Oct. 5 incident in the 4000 block of Redbird Circle.

He declined further comment.

Chloe’s owner, Rebecca Izquierdo, said her neighbor told her that Chloe died in the street.

Chloe, Izquierdo said, had no teeth because of her advanced age.

Izquierdo says she wasn’t home at the time, but was told about the incident by her next door neighbor. The neighbor said she saw Mouser struggling with the dogs at the edge of her driveway.

The neighbor could not tell whether either dog was on a leash. Mouser and his dog were gone when she went back outside.

There are no reports of Chloe every being involved in another fight, but she has been caught twice running at large by Animal Services. Izquierdo paid $140 for impound fees to get her back.

“I own the fact that my dog was off the leash, but the problem I have in this case is the violence that ensued,” Izquierdo said.

In the report, Mouser stated that he was walking past Izquierdo’s house, about a half-mile from his house on Olentary Street, when Chloe charged him and Tyson. He said the dogs fought for about three to four minutes and he couldn’t separate them.

Mouser screamed for help, according to the report, but when no one came he stated that he kicked Chloe and continued yelling. Fearing for his safety, he took out a black and silver pocket knife and stabbed Chloe in the back of her ribs and then the neck.

Mouser was then able to separate the dogs and returned home to call 911.

Deputies spoke to Mouser, Izquierdo and the neighbor, and determined that Chloe came out of her yard to confront Mouser and his dog.

Mouser acted in self-defense when he stabbed the dog, deputies concluded.

No charges were filed in the case, according to the Sheriff’s Office report.

But Izquierdo said more could have been done to stop the attack. She was angry about the condition of her dog.

“He dragged the knife across her back and then he stabbed her in the neck and killed her,” Izquierdo said. “This is extreme violence.”

Mouser and Izquierdo never spoke before the incident, but Izquierdo said that she now wants Mouser to explain what happened. She has five children who are upset about the loss of their family dog, she said.

“There has been no ounce of human decency and human compassion,” Izquierdo said. “I am just outraged.”